"Emily Maitlis' shoes are probably worth more than what a pensioner gets in a month," said 75 year old June Bishop as she joined pensioners protesting outside New Broadcasting House in London.

Having had a pop at the Newsnight presenter, Ms Bishop, a former legal secretary from Eltham, in south East London wasn't finished. "The BBC is full of repeats. They do a good drama, but I wouldn't go to the cinema and pay the same money to see the same film over and over again. It's scandalous, really."

Angry scenes were repeated around the country yesterday as demonstrators, angry at the broadcaster's decision to scrap universal TV licences for the over 75s, staged protests at BBC headquarters around the UK.

As well as London, demonstrations were held in Leeds, and Norwich, following on from one outside the BBC HQ MediaCityUK in Salford a week ago.

In Glasgow, dozens took part in a protest outside BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay headquarters, chanting: "BBC, BBC, keep our licence free."

Some of those at the protest spoke of the impact losing their TV would have on elderly people living alone. However many said they blamed the Government – which forced the broadcaster to take on responsibility for the exemption as part of license fee negotiations four years ago.

Most were not placated by the fact pensioners on low incomes will continue to be exempt from paying.

Billy Foster, 72, from Glasgow, said: "Lots of elderly people are really proud and they will refuse to be means-tested and will end up without a TV. It is a scandal. Some people don't see other people from one week to the other and it is their only contact with the outside world."

Pat Milligan, 77, also from Glasgow, said free licence fees helped many older people to stay in touch, and feel less isolated.

"A lot of women in my age group are widows or have family that live elsewhere and TV is their contact with the outside world," she said. "For lots of elderly people their dignity is very important and to go through the whole means-testing process, they would be put off.

But she said the government should take responsibility

"I don't think it should be on the BBC, it should be on this government, it should be on the Conservative Government, they've passed the buck to the BBC which I don't think is very democratic at all," Ms Milligan said.

Many protesters held placards with messages such as Save Our Free TV Licence.

Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), had called for the coordinated events. They came as Westminster MPs agreed to debate the issue after an e-petition to continue to fund free TV licences for the over-75s achieved more than 170,000 signatures.

Outside New Broadcasting House in London, pensioners held up placards saying The Great British Turn Off, Bashing Bedridden Citizens and Don't Switch Us Off, and chanted: "What do we want? Television licence back!"

While some said the BBC should have stood up for the universal perk, many took aim at the Government.

Ian Burleigh, 67, from London, said: "It's a stealth tax by the Government hiding behind the skirts of the BBC.

"The Government should have had the courage to say this is what they wanted to do instead of trying to get the BBC to do it."

And he added: "I have great respect for the BBC but they should have had the guts to stand up to this stealth tax."

The decision to scrap the universal perk from June next year has been criticised by TV stars Len Goodman and Dame Esther Rantzen and charities such as Age UK.

Funding the free licences is due to be transferred from the Government to the BBC next year as part of an agreement hammered out in 2015. But the BBC has said that funding the universal scheme would mean the closure of BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, the BBC Scotland channel, Radio 5 Live, and several local radio stations.

Ted Knight, 86, from Crystal Palace, south London, said: "The Government is responsible. It was a manifesto commitment."

Mr Knight, who previously worked in education administration, added: "My fear is if we allow this to happen they will come for the other lifelines, the heating allowances, the free travel, which are essential to an older person's life. That's what they'll come for."

Joan Plant, 88, said: "75-year-olds and up are children of the war, who have been through bombing, rationing, austerity... It doesn't seem right that you (the younger generation) are picking on us."

Dot Gibson, 85, deputy general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, said: "These soaps and programmes are real to people who are lonely.

"That isn't understood. It's not a question of these people getting Bafta awards and the rest of it. It's a universal benefit. You pay for it your whole life in your taxes. It's not a perk."

Jake McLeod, 73, chairman of the Unite retired members branch for Glasgow and the west of Scotland, said: "The Tories in their manifesto made it quite clear that they were going to keep the licence for the over-75s but the onus has been put back on the BBC...

"In our opinion the Tories are to blame for it all and we hope that a demonstration of this nature will grow throughout the country and they will see sense and assist those elderly people that need their TV to keep themselves going because that's all they've got, a lot of people, stuck in their house."

Any e-petition through the parliamentary system that has more than 100,000 signatures is considered for debate.

MPs will debate the issue at Westminster Hall on July 15, as well as two other petitions - a call for a public inquiry into alleged bias at the BBC and for the TV licence to be abolished.

A separate petition on the Age UK website, entitled Switched Off: Save free TV for older people, has so far garnered more than 575,000 names.